reasons to be cheerful......

....or not, as the case may be.

I'm in the process of researching for a new car and have thus far, narrowed it down to five main choices and maybe one or two other not so keen on but reliable options.

First up is one of my favourite cars of the past and one that is now well within my smallish budget:

The Fiat Coupe.
At the moment, prices for this little beauty is hovering at around the £3000 for a decent example going up to £4500 for the best ones around. It seats four properly and has a decent enough boot and is more than fast enough for my needs (0-60 in less than 6.5 secs!) and looks absolutely stunning. Big problem though is the insurance on the bugger. So far quotes have been in the £1000-1500 mark which is more than I would like to pay.... Another big problem is that I am more than aware of the Fiat issue, that being the likelyhood of pieces falling off at regular intervals. I'm also aware that a front wheel drive car with 220ish BHP at the wheels is more than likely to eat up a few tyres in between services and I'm going to ignore the thirst factor of a rev happy turbo engine.


Next up we have my number two Coupe choice:
The Ford Puma.
Another stunning looking coupe but ultimately not as versatile as the bigger Fiat (back seats are just about more useful as those in a TT) but that's clearly offset by the cheaper running, servicing and general maintanence costs. Insurance is a healthy bit cheaper but not by much and still around the £1000 mark for the 1.7. It's also possibly a bit girly for my liking but a sensible choice of colour remedies that to a degree and as much as I don't like it, Black is probably the colour of choice for this (unless I can find someone who specified the performance blue option).


Then we head into the hatchback selection starting with an italian:
Alfa Romeo 147
I have to admit, I know that this is possibly the least sensible option here as it is without doubt the most fragile car, even compared to the Fiat. I'm told by those in the know, that most problems would've sorted themselves out by now so I'm kinda relieved but still slightly skeptical. The model of choice right now would be the 2.0 Lusso. It sounds wonderfully burbly at 4000rpm and while it's not as fast as belive it or not, either of the two above, it looks and feels special enough for me not to care. But alas, insurance is similar to the Fiat and so are annual costs. That's what happens when you go Italian.....


Safe option number 1:
Ford Focus
Not that exciting I know but the one I've been eyeing up is the ST170 model that has a respectable 170ish BHP and usually comes fully loaded with the most useful stuff such as A/C, heated windscreen etc etc so it makes it actually more worth it than the other options. Again, insurance for this sits at around £1000 for me but again, like the Puma, this is offset by cheaper day to day costs. It is also more useful as a car being more spacious inside while being slightly smaller and lighter than the Alfa. It is also faster than the Alfa and most people aren't aware of just how fast it is (0-60 in around 8 secs). Right now though, I'm put off by it's well, being rather common and Naeem has one, altough his is the pleb base 1.4 but still....

Lastly, I am always tempted by something German and something more new.
Audi A3 Sportback
Not that exciting, not that fast, not even that spacious but it's one hell of an expensive car. It's the newest and would probaly clean out my current savings but it's an Audi and more or less brand new so I'd have virtually no worries with it. The other cars I'm looking at are now reacing the 5-6 year old mark and in the case of the Fiat and Alfa, nearing a recommended cam belt change. With the Fiat, it'd also need an engine top end rebuild as well because of the turbo and that's if I'm lucky. The Fords are relatively trouble free but at taht age, things start to loosen up and from my experience, gearbox/cluth problems start to show at this age. Realistically, I'd be betetr off getting an older model A3 (i.e Golf in disguise) or even a Golf V5 but they're pretty lifeless compared to the Alfa and the Fiat.

What to do eh?
I'd love to say sod it to these sort of cars and go for my classic Lotus Elan but I know taht would be a whole new kettle of trouble so transport it has to be for now. Head or heart? Those that know me would know that for the most part I am a head person. Those that know me betetr would also know that I am not one who hasn't ever done anything from the heart.....
If I'm being honest, right now, the Italian cars are the most tempting, followed very closely by the Puma. At the end of the day though, Insurance costs is going to make this decision for me, with versitility being the secondary judge.

Let the hunt begin.